Graham Taylor comment: He gave everything as England manager

GRAHAM TAYLOR was the only manager I have worked with who could be friendly when he was fuming.

That toothy grin would snap shut, he would eye us, face pink with rage, upset over criticism of him and his beloved England.

As a team manager he fell short at international level, as a man he was magnificent.

He knew the difficult questions would come, and although sometimes he would cover his hurt with a curt reply, intrinsically he was a totally good bloke.

In the competitive world of newspapers he would often fail to understand the job we did. But he should have known. After all, he was the son of a journalist.

We clashed many times, but, never fell out.

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Former England and Watford manager Graham Taylor died at the age of 72

He was puzzled why he was a target.

He was badly hurt by the headline that appeared after a match when England had lost: Swedes 2 Turnips 1.

But very soon that grin would be back on his face, he knew we did not write the headlines, so he would read match reports in detail to try to find if any of us had actually said something nice about him.

He was up for a joke, and enjoyed the banter of a dressing room, but we never really got to know him that closely because he would never allow us to see inside.

In a way he was slightly old fashioned but massively respected for being his own person. He loved football, loved his family and his country, but never had the same affection for us.

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Taylor managed England at Euro 1992

Fans and players react to death of Graham Taylor

Thu, January 12, 2017

Click through the gallery as fans and players pay their respects following the death of Graham Taylor, aged 72